Operation: $$ accumulation

Playing poker is about making money. I've been playing poker a while now and still haven't withdrawn $100k. I thought i was onto something at the start of 2010. I was. Then i regressed into all too familiar tilting leaking territory. There is something wrong with that picture and it needs to be remedied pronto. 2011 so far has been pretty meh, seem to be up about $2k so far, which is a waste of time even with a week off calculated into the mix. Combination of rungood at 25nl, runbad at 50nl, rakeback, end-year bonus, loyalty freeroll, and stars cap games.

I have just bought a $5k bonus on ftp. 12-tabling 50nl and it seems to clear at about $20/hr. Which is an ok base hourly, iff I'm making a decent winrate on top of that.

I know what to do. I know how to do it. Game on.
shout-out to m2M for op-title inspiration

and some history cos i like history, from most recent to early daze...

Poker in 2010. Bit of a poker letdown really. A quick look through my records shows that i withdrew $6k in Dec 09 (hadn't noticed a party withdrawal earlier) and $25k in the 2010 calendar year. I had more roll at the start of the year than now though. Stakes ranged from micro through a few hands at 200nl and back to micro again. Results were gross. Tilt was rampant. I had about 3 months off poker (plus various days/weekends/etc in between bigger breaks). I played quite a few hands and won sfa at the tables. I received a bunch of rakeback and bonuses and stuff. Poker has allowed me a fairly relaxing year outside of poker, but, meh, the poker itself has been disappointing on all fronts - financial and otherwise.

2010-trainwreck
a 10k hands in one day winrate prop thread
first few months as a pro - featuring 200nl disaster-a-ments
started getting serious - featuring self indulgent autobiography
way back when, getting comfortable leaving the micros
where it all began

GL

GL

You go, guy.

Goooood luck sir

cheers for all the well wishes, and right back at y'all
i just spent an hour doing some quick HEM filtering on stuff, particularly positional things

SB/BB
Seems my blinds winrate isn't as bad as i thought it would be = -10BB/100 from sb is fine -25BB/100 from bb is not good, but i can see where to fix this pretty easily. i can probably do the same or better from these positions while playing tighter. Especially when my sb vpip is 25% = wtf, i'm having to spend way too much energy on playing oop with weak ranges vs poorly defined ranges and i'm pretty sure that's affecting my overall ability to focus across all tables. There are a few spots there that point towards needing more balance though.

UTG
pretty hard to get this wrong if you play it tight enough
UTG+1
as above

MP1 i'm 12-11 and that seems to be acceptable, as is winrate

MP2 is ok too i think

LP my winrates are unacceptably low and i think i see why. Time to do a few more analyses to confirm what my initial filtering suggests...

50nl has been pretty rough on me this time around so far. If I run into another two card straight flush vs my top boat, another quads, another moan.
Feeling good about my game, doing some study is golden.

+$1600 for the month of January - net of everything - which annoys me no end.

any thoughts from anyone?

Do people defend more often or less often from the blinds in FR? I'd imagine less?

I'd be curious in knowing of all the times it folds around to you on CO or button, what percentage you're attempting to steal.

Because it seems to me that if they are folding more in the blinds, then this percentage should be similar if not more than what it would be in 6max?

I understand that the raw number of times this happens in FR will be way less than 6max, given how many other players there are, but the % of the time you actually do take advantage of it when it does happen should be similar.

Originally Posted by griffey24

Do people defend more often or less often from the blinds in FR? I'd imagine less?

I'd be curious in knowing of all the times it folds around to you on CO or button, what percentage you're attempting to steal.

Because it seems to me that if they are folding more in the blinds, then this percentage should be similar if not more than what it would be in 6max?

I understand that the raw number of times this happens in FR will be way less than 6max, given how many other players there are, but the % of the time you actually do take advantage of it when it does happen should be similar.

in cutoff, unopened to me = 700/1754.

cheers for the feedback.

people defend less often, and tend to do it fairly poorly = calling and then fit or fold post, or 3-betting with huge sizing tells (esp cos i'm 2.5x-ing from the button). I agree that CO steal looks very low there, and i'm not sure why that is - i'm normally nearer 35% overall steal = i'll look at that more closely.

Yah that does seem low. Given how infrequently it must happen, you gotta take advantage of it when it does, especially if people are rarely defending and defending poorly at that!

This will boost your late positions VPIP/PFR and overall VPIP/PFR quite a bit, while still playing most of your hands IP.

It will also probably get you more action, since you won't look quite as tight.

i'm probably tighter UTG and looser OTB but w/e works for your style...do you need to worry about lolbalance utg at fiddies?

niiiiice! Keep it up.

up a little more, just icm split the final 3 of the FTP 500 for $160ish.
net up a few buyins at the tables now in February.
cleared $650 in bonus, about $150 in rakeback.
lol, now i just need to get a winrate at the tables and try to crack out an ok month.

i've recently moved to FT thanks to a rakeback deal i didn't realise i was eligible for. i'm curious, what do you think is the best way to get value from FTP's? just keep saving them and buying cash bonuses? are there any particularly soft satellites you like to play with FTP's?

Originally Posted by rpm

what do you think is the best way to get value from FTP's? just keep saving them and buying cash bonuses? are there any particularly soft satellites you like to play with FTP's?

i just saved mine until FTP finally introduced cash bonuses for FTPs. Need to get black card status to take advantage of this though. I'll occasionally play a tourney with them. No idea about soft satellites etc.
I know that oskar used all of his on some sngs that seemed profitable.

good luck! that KK hand looks tilting as hell.

I should post stats and think about them more often. Up 18buyins at the tables since then.
Games are ferociously good, maybe i'll try to grind some more. 35k hands so far this month.

Originally Posted by fjuanl

good luck! that KK hand looks tilting as hell.

cheers, re the tilt hand. Nah, was kinda funny. I mean, i didn't even get sucked out on

clearing black-card bonuses sure pads a winrate.
starting to win at the tables is good too.
last 20k hands i'm running near 5ptBB
decent volume so far this month
up close to $2k bonus+tableprofit+rakeback+tourney in feb so far

here are some interesting position stats. From a good/standard TAG-nit in my games. Some things stand out - I came across this during some good ol' fashioned reg-review

well today sucked for me in poker.
AA lost a whole lot in 3b/4b pots. AA<97 etc. AQ<88 on AQQ88. Blah blah
whatever. Still up a bunch this month i guess.

and i feasted on freshly caught trout for breakfast this morning. And i'm about to go climbing. Life ain't all bad.

Originally Posted by daven

and i feasted on freshly caught trout for breakfast this morning. And i'm about to go climbing. Life ain't all bad.

At least you're looking toward the positive things in life

zzzzzzzzzzz
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $0.50 BB (8 handed) - Full Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

CO ($17.50)
Button ($60.75)
SB ($57.90)
BB ($94.30)
UTG ($130.25)
UTG+1 ($51.40)
MP1 ($28.15)
Hero (MP2) ($50.45)

Preflop: Hero is MP2 with A, A
3 folds, Hero bets $1.75, 1 fold, Button raises to $6, 2 folds, Hero raises to $12.50, Button calls $6.50

Flop: ($25.75) 4, 10, 4 (2 players)
Hero bets $9, Button calls $9

Turn: ($43.75) 9 (2 players)
Hero bets $28.95 (All-In), Button calls $28.95

River: ($101.65) 5 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $101.65 | Rake: $3

Results:
Button had 10, 10 (full house, tens over fours).
Hero had A, A (two pair, Aces and fours).
Outcome: Button won $98.65

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $0.50 BB (8 handed) - Full Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

BB ($50)
UTG ($59.15)
UTG+1 ($57.20)
Hero (MP1) ($53.15)
MP2 ($16.75)
CO ($17.50)
Button ($68.85)
SB ($64.90)

Preflop: Hero is MP1 with K, A
2 folds, Hero bets $1.75, 3 folds, SB raises to $5.75, 1 fold, Hero raises to $13, SB calls $7.25

Flop: ($26.50) 6, 6, A (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $9, SB calls $9

Turn: ($44.50) 10 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $31.15 (All-In), SB calls $31.15

River: ($106.80) 3 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $106.80 | Rake: $3

Results:
SB had 10, 10 (full house, tens over sixes).
Hero had K, A (two pair, Aces and sixes).
Outcome: SB won $103.80

etc

Ah so that's the shit people are calling 4bets with.

i think there was a post here about posting beats and whether this is a dumb thing to do? but it's gone now. And yep, whoever said that is right. These beats are all amusing beats/coolers rather than things i'm really upset about. I will balance the crazy beats vs villains whose lines I am stoked about with crazy wins of the same flavour in future

Cashed the ironman freeroll yesterday but then crashed out in about 90th after 4hrs. It was heaps of fun. I'm getting way better at tourneys - mostly about being way less nit. Won some flips. Then lost a couple to end it: AK<99 for the chip lead and then got it in with KQs < A4o with about 8bb left. Pretty stoked with it all after being down to about 7bb after a big pot hand that went badly about 1 1/2 hrs into the tourney.

haven't been accumulating many dollars lately
lost a few though
and withdrew my monthly
= my roll sits static.

started implementing some stuff into my game that should already be there. Decided to do it at 25nl, just in case it backfired. Worked out great, cos it's cheaper laughs that way. Funniest hand in a long time, blah blah don't post beats etc. But c'mon. Losing with KK on KK9JT is worth a picture! funniest thing is happened for less than 100bb and at lol-stakes. Makes me smile.

daven I've been away for awhile and just read through your op. Good luck bro you know I'll be supporting you for sure. That last graph is so fucking sexy it's crazy but not as crazy as the hand you posted today! WTH are you stupid that's an easy fold on the river.....

yea it was me who was hating on posting beats but i was drunk when i posted it and didnt realize that both the morons had flatted 4bets with TT...worthy of a lolpost imo.....and this last one is hilarious as well, thats what you get for slowplaying quads.

Also i just went over that "reg review" is the thing that jumps out the LOL jump in VPiP/PFR from HJ to CO? Or that he like never 3bets except for Btn/SB/BB ?

Originally Posted by philly and the phanatics

Also i just went over that "reg review" is the thing that jumps out the LOL jump in VPiP/PFR from HJ to CO? Or that he like never 3bets except for Btn/SB/BB ?

it's actually really interesting. He's a solid winner. Gets you thinking about positional play? and image? like, he's 2.8% 3b, so you gonna respect his 3bets some? and he's doing it from lp and blinds vs weak ranges that want to fold. yet he flats AK/KK/AA from mp. But nobody notices. Etc.

been out of internet range for a week and it feels good. Volunteered to help a friend with fieldwork on the west coast. She's halfway through a PhD in environmental geochemistry, all about mitigating mining impacts on the environment etc. Ended up at some interesting field-sites, playing with portable XRFs, exploring where da gold at. Anyway, turns out i'm going to be paid for the week i spent out there. Maybe it's a form of compensation for all the arsenic i probably ate. First non-poker income in close on two years. Funny.
Guess i'll play poker again tomorrow or something. I have a couple of earthquake refugees from Christchurch staying at the moment, friends whose place is likely to be without electricity or drains for another few weeks. That city got fucked up. And a bunch of people got killed. Kinda puts the occasional cooler in perspective

old school cheese! YouTube - Just Another Day Vs Platoon (Oakenfold).wmv
Skip Raiders - Another Day (Best MV) HQ - YouTube

reminds me of 2am with a car stuck in sand next to a lake and saying fuck it, eating candy (that kind of candy ) and dancing with the rest of the carload until the car lights dimmed and night began to fade. Then we dug out the car, hit the road and climbed rocks until our fingers bled. Off to Queenstown on Friday for a weekend of bouldering with good crew. Camping next to a lake. Expectations of fun. Life's sunny. Running heaps, training pretty seriously for a race a few months away. Next week should be my first 100km training week since years ago. Life = endorphines. And a spot of gambling. 6-max PLO the last few k hands of changing it up for lols. outa here.

yo daven, out of interest, how many tables do you play on average?

Originally Posted by rpm

yo daven, out of interest, how many tables do you play on average?

depends. Sometimes as few as 7, sometimes as many as 16. Often about 12.

what sort of race are you training for? marathon?

I'm guessing from the tone of your intro post (and the fact you're still grinding) that you think the life of a full time grinder > working a standard job. what's life after poker look like for you? how appealing would a job have to be to go back to the workforce?

Originally Posted by Vi-Zer0Skill

what sort of race are you training for? marathon?

a half, then another half a few weeks later.

Originally Posted by Vi-Zer0Skill

I'm guessing from the tone of your intro post (and the fact you're still grinding) that you think the life of a full time grinder > working a standard job. what's life after poker look like for you?

interesting, cool. Recently I was talking about where i want to be in 5yrs from now. It includes being financially liquid enough that i only have to work when i choose to. I want to be involved in working on projects that i think matter. It is looking more and more like there may need to be a year or two of working a regular job to get there.

Originally Posted by Vi-Zer0Skill

how appealing would a job have to be to go back to the workforce?

* lifestyle is one of the aspects that matters. An example. Today is Tuesday. I went out for a 2hr run this morning, i'm meeting my girlfriend for lunch soon, i'll play a couple of hours this afternoon, then i'm going climbing with a bunch of friends.
* the fact that i chose to live in the same cities as my girlfriend the last couple of years = i can't really work doing what i do cos of initially language, and now cos of small town -> limited work that would be fun.
* re how appealing a job would have to be. That's a little complicated. I really enjoy the work i do when i'm doing it. And it pays pretty damn well. But i typically end up pulling solid hours while i'm doing it. And life outside of work suffers. Not sure.

Relevant is that my girlfriend is finished study for a while now. So we're both free to go wherever, do whatever. I think we'll end up at a wedding in germany then heading on a climbing roadtrip through southern europe for a few months to avoid the NZ winter. Then? maybe i'll do some contract work for a while, or maybe i'll somehow have got good at poker. I'm fascinated at what may end up happening

cool weekend just passed. No poker again. Camped next to a lake on Friday night, entered a climbing comp on flawless schist boulders on saturday and had a great time, even climbed ok. Now it's Monday morning, i've already clocked a 1hr run with a couple of people i'm training with, sun is out, life feels good. May almost be time to play some poker. I've managed 7hrs of 6ptBB/100 in the first 7 days of March. Need to clock more hours. It's looking more and more likely that i'll be in Europe from mid-May until early-September. Attending weddings, climbing rocks, exploring euro-beer, that sort of thing. Probably end up taking my laptop and playing some poker on the road.

played a few k hands today
now i need to put in a bunch more hours
here is march so far.

it is impossible to overstate just how important focus is
that is all

another weekend away. two days of bouldering on limestone. body is well worked. Life feels good. Only 20k hands of poker so far in March. Time for some volume.

haven't played much yet this month, but i have gone away climbing two weekends and life is feeling good. I'm up about $1.2k after rakeback/bonus, and i've played 27k hands, about half at 25nl and the rest now i'm feeling good at 50nl. I've made a few changes to my game and it's interesting seeing that my redline slopes downward a lot less sharply, hell, i've even had sessions of 2k hands and a +ve redline on occasion lately.

anyway, volume to come later. Now it's time to enjoy the sunshine.

i've been thinking a lot about poker of late. It's still a fascinating journey. At the moment i'm trying to figure out what things i want to fill the rest of my day-to-day life with. I don't want to simply fall into a habit of 'meh, not sure what to do right now - I'll play some poker'

<daven> it's weird
<daven> i think poker is dangerous/insidious when it's a filling in time thing
<daven> even if the filling in time is profitable
<Zill4> pretty bad idea for me
<Zill4> edges too thin to be playing badly
<daven> bad idea for me
<daven> same reason, different stakes
<Zill4> pretty much anyone really

As zill4 implied above, not only is playing poker to fill in time unhealthy, but it is also likely to have a significant effect on overall poker profitability. Like, even if the session where you play b-game is profitable, it doesn't mean t's a good decision to play from even a $$ perspective due to opportunity cost. If there is a limit to how many hours you can play in a day before you start to burnout or lose focus, then surely it's better to put in those hours where everything is in favour of a-game being played. Even more so if these 'filling in time' sessions occur when games quality is poor.

also

Originally Posted by Fnord

You under-estimate how much of your profit comes from players that suck worse than you and fail to seek them out.

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $0.50 BB (7 handed) - Full Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

CO ($169.80)
Hero (Button) ($50)
SB ($50.70)
BB ($34.10)
UTG ($21)
MP1 ($13)
MP2 ($52.95)

Preflop: Hero is Button with A, K
2 folds, MP2 bets $2, 1 fold, Hero raises to $6.25, 2 folds, MP2 calls $4.25

Flop: ($13.25) A, A, J (2 players)
MP2 bets $46.70 (All-In), Hero calls $43.75 (All-In)

Turn: ($100.75) 3 (2 players, 2 all-in)

River: ($100.75) 10 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $100.75 | Rake: $3

Results:
Hero had A, K (three of a kind, Aces).
MP2 had 5, 8 (one pair, Aces).
Outcome: Hero won $97.75

Given the info on this guy I think calling turn is a good play.

On the river if he bets I'd shove non spades expecting his calling range to be wider. Probably just call spades unless the only hands he bets are AA/TT/KsQs in which case maybe make a nitty fold.

If he checks a blank river I'd bet $17. Spade river b/f $12.

this morning when i started my session i had HUD issues.

Mistake #1 = I tried to sort them out while continuing the session.
Mistake #2 = I started playing badly beyond the obvious missing focus due to Mistake #1, and kept playing.
Mistake #3 = I made a terrible call pre and stacked a fish - for only 60bb.
Mistake #4 = I managed to lose 100+bb stacks in several spots in cooler or badbeat situations

correct action #1 = I identified that a reg was getting all 4b/5b crazy on me. Shame that all that meant was losing flip-type spots QQ<AT and AQ<99...
correct action #2 = I finally quit the session.

current action = i'm a glutton for punishment/curious results orientated fool, so i'm going to check how much the stupidity of this morning cost me.

good news = checked, stuck only 4bi ain't bad for a moron morning. Especially when that includes being 3bi behind on luck-odds
more good news = the New Zealand dollar has fallen to a 6-month low against the US.

went and saw The Eastern last night, they were as amazing as ever

as for this op - i've been slowly accumulating dollars.
min-cashed one of the mini-ftops yesterday busting after 5hrs in like 150/3000 or something
played 3 of the challenge durrr freerolls this morning. lol-min-cashed all 3, still live in one for about 20c or something, update = busted when i 3b shoved AQs vs the table chip leader and his TJs kicked my sorry arse
50nl cash seems to be going ok although some of my bluffs might be questionable?
http://www.flopturnriver.com/pokerfo...nl-186319.html
http://www.flopturnriver.com/pokerfo...er-186253.html

heading away for another climbing mission once i bust out of this tourney, and camping next to a big salmon/trout river tonight = two days in daven-life looks like poker -> mincash freerolls, stack donks, bluff regs -> go climbing -> eat -> go fishing -> sleep -> coffee -> climbing -> back to town -> more poker
life is good. Climbing trip to europe in June/July looking more and more likely. Enjoying poker.

re: zilla conversation -- I have been dealing with poker burnout pretty much the entire month, and following a playing schedule might be the best thing for me. Usually I just play when I have some free time but I find I am often not playing my A game (lol I remember reading something Doyle Brunson wrote about how he like online poker because he can play for 10-15mins whenever he wants -- encourage degenerateaments).

sick life man, Australia is the nuts

Originally Posted by Vi-Zer0Skill

re: zilla conversation -- I have been dealing with poker burnout pretty much the entire month, and following a playing schedule might be the best thing for me. Usually I just play when I have some free time but I find I am often not playing my A game (lol I remember reading something Doyle Brunson wrote about how he like online poker because he can play for 10-15mins whenever he wants -- encourage degenerateaments).

sick life man, Australia is the nuts

As someone who suffered burnout last year and quit playing for 6 months, I can say first hand that it's a very difficult situation. In hindsight, I wish I hadn't taken so much time off. It definitely takes a while to get back in the swing of things. Everytime I think I'm back to my old self, new leaks or unpredictable things start to happen. But, if you're suffering burnout, you're not really as in control for how much time you can take off. I think trying to play through it could make it worse. So, if I get burnt out again, I will definitely take time off but try not to take TOO much time off

The bottom line is if you really like poker, you're going to want to play it again at some point in the future so always keep that in mind.

it's 6:40am. I woke up this morning to find that a friend died climbing overnight. Fuck deep play, fuck 'at least he was doing what he loves', fuck this shit.
sometimes i wish more of my friends were video-gamers whose biggest exposure to risk was calorie overload or smashing a mouse. but then i realise how lame that would be.

i was going to post a graph. Whatever. up a few $k this month. Who really cares.

no more emo rant
another day, another grind, blah blah blah poker.

lolpoker month is going just fine
can't seem to win flips mid-late stages of tourneys, but that's probably cos i suck at tourneys
the world is bigger than we imagine, so is music. Beer is tasty, life is tastier.
YouTube - Drifting - Salmonella Dub

month is a volume fail, a winrate ok I guess, a MTT lol (+$300 or so), and a bonus clearing hi-5! Won't finish clearing the $5k this month, but getting closer day by day. And then i'll have another $3-4k worth of bonuses available. Fun times.

that winrate is only "ok i guess"? boy do i suck at poker

Hey Daven. I've said this before and I'll say it again: I'm a huge fan of your nomadic lifestyle. I'm pretty sure this is exactly what I said the first time we spoke. I truly respect that you go out there and live the way you want. I've recently been trying to do exactly the same.

With that, good luck in poker. Own it so you can continue to live on your terms.

cheers boog.

yesterday was a bit of a running milestone. I talked to a reasonably serious runner about what would be a good door-to-door time for a circuit I run (@mark if you read this = KEC on stuart -> moana pool -> queens drive -> ross creek reservoir -> laps of reservoir -> back the same way). He figured 1hr 10 would be solid. I smashed myself and came in at 58mins. Absolutely stoked with how my body responded between the 30 and 45 minute marks, although I still have a lot of work to do on post-hitting-the-wall. I'll head out for the first 2hr run of this training kick sometime in the next week, base is getting good so it's time to mix long runs in with some speed/interval work. Psyched.

poker is just fine. Made my monthly withdrawal and promptly lost a few buyins. Bankroll is still well north of where it was at the start of the month. I'm getting into some silly wars, last 10k hands I'm 54% fold to 3b, 28% 4b and it's time to calm that shit down some. I think I've made my point by now. It seems that I'm going to be clearing FTP bonuses forever. I'm getting through the $5k black card bonus, by the time i clear it I'll have two $600 ironman medal bonuses to clear, then the midyear $600 ironman bonus, and by then i'll have close to enough FTPs to get another $5k black card bonus. And so it continues. I'm mixing in a few MTTs lately, still haven't had a decent score but I'm getting slowly better - I need to do a bit of work on bet/shove spots in mid-game and on late game calling ranges. Maybe time to run a bunch of turbo sngs.

life's good. It's Saturday morning. It's raining outside. Maybe it's time to grind. 60k hands so far this month. My volume is laughable.

A circus freak friend sent me a cool link of some acrobalance madness, i'm impressed
https://www.facebook.com/video/video...42126&comments

no no no no no no.
dont get the iron man medal bonuses get the FTP pts with your medals.

Originally Posted by bikes

no no no no no no.
dont get the iron man medal bonuses get the FTP pts with your medals.

cheers for the heads up! I haven't bought an ironman bonus this year and haven't done the math on which is best (medals -> FTPs -> black card bonus vs ironman medal bonuses) - time to do that now!

edit: maths is easy. Bikes is right. Better to be converting medals to FTPs and using them to buy black card bonuses

Cheers for sharing that Bikes. Now all i have to do is figure out whether to use my FTP Academy points direct for tourney entries etc, or to convert them to FTP points for $$. FTP academy is probably worth a few dollars an hour if you're not already doing those challenges.

Month is drawing to a close. I'm playing better poker than I have before. I watched most of Haseeb Qureshi's vids during the last week (cheers to the suited aces blog for the heads up), and a few others that had the occasional gem. I have been running a few filters over HEM, and will continue doing so as these adjustments to my game get firmed up.

and $$ for the month so far. I'm up just under $2k at the tables. A few hundred from MTT fun. Close to another $1k from rakeback/bonus. I think that's it? not sure. 65hrs of poker for March to date. Today it's raining hard and should be a huge poker day. But my girlfriend has other ideas, and my car - so it's on my bike to ride out to the beach right now I suppose. It looks as though it could be a day off. Tomorrow I grind.

i'm getting good at playing one stake lower than usual if I feel there is a risk of being incapable of a-game. It's nice to have most of my swing sessions at lower stakes and my low variance winning sessions at higher stakes. Nice in many ways. As an example, the 4bi drop at the end is at 25nl, hungover - the session was net around even-ish.

Here's a March graph. Compare it to muzz's recent effort (100k hands in 2 weeks, +$2800 at the same stakes) and it's not that impressive for someone with heaps of time available to grind. But I'm not in the least bit unhappy with it either, well, I could take out some of those steep descents and make the upslope a little steeper - but it's far from awful!!

Originally Posted by daven

i'm getting good at playing one stake lower than usual if I feel there is a risk of being incapable of a-game. It's nice to have most of my swing sessions at lower stakes and my low variance winning sessions at higher stakes.

now why didn't i ever think to do that? thanks for sharing.

today was the worst death run i've had in ages - by the end i was starting to feel uncomfortable getting it in pre with AA, flopping middle set on dry boards, raising runner runner flushes on unpaired boards, etc. All cos i'd spent all day learning that each of these things cost a bunch of money. So a short break later i fired up another grind, i mixed in a few tables of the hundies again to try and win it back. Turns out that those regs don't respect my raises either, but i was nit by then - good to run death at 50 and hot at 100 imo. Shame i played 6k at 50, and 1k at 100.

Enough moaning, a poker thoughts update:

I've been playing a lot of HU while starting tables with the winningest reg at 50nl. It has been good for my game, i'm sure, although apparently terrible for his:

Originally Posted by some 2p2 reg

Hey Man,
Wanted to explain why I wont play you hu. To be honest I dont feel like I have an edge playing you and therefore the variance just isnt worth it for me at the minute. My game sucks right now and wI feel my game is regressing and I need to be able to work on my game fundamentally and when we play hu it takes too much of my focus away from all of my other games.

it's a shame, cos i've been taking huge advantage by sitting at all his full tables while knowing the HU tables were taking all his focus. Oh well, it was profitable while it lasted.

Another reg surprised me by deciding to mix it up HU later on, but that only lasted a few buyins. I'm going to need to do a review of that match as he called a lot of my bluffs and i was net losing at showdown vs him yet somehow ended up quite a way ahead - pretty sure i've learned something from that madness. He started moaning about too many tables etc, i pointed out i was playing 12 others, 4 of which were short. He stopped moaning.

oh, and a funny hand played out while typing, the fold surprised me some. Villain makes an expert fold getting 5:1 NH sir.

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $0.50 BB (9 handed) - Full Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP1 ($38.70)
MP2 ($53.60)
Hero (MP3) ($72.35)
CO ($62.10)
Button ($50)
SB ($100.40)
BB ($73.70)
UTG ($50)
UTG+1 ($178.50)

Preflop: Hero is MP3 with xx
4 folds, Hero bets $1.75, 2 folds, SB calls $1.50, BB calls $1.25

Flop: ($5.25) 3, 3, 7 (3 players)
SB bets $5.25, 1 fold, Hero calls $5.25

Turn: ($15.75) A (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $11, SB calls $11

River: ($37.75) 10 (2 players)
SB bets $32, Hero raises to $54.35 (All-In), 1 fold

Total pot: $101.75 | Rake: $3

Results:
Hero didn't show
Outcome: Hero won $98.75

something i haven't read yet, posting it here so i don't forget
500th post: Mental Game/Poker Mindset Manifesto + graphs + gambling short story (way, way tl;dr - Poker Beats Brags and Variance

nh

77? AA?

poker sometimes makes me laugh - all hands from the same session obviously. 7k hands. Solid volume. Cleared some bonus. Lost some $$.
here's a cool climbing vid from a friend of mine, probably a better use of time than scrolling through the pile of hand histories below
Homage on Vimeo

session started out all standard spots lol-o-beats and coolers

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $0.50 BB (9 handed) - Full Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP1 ($50)
MP2 ($32)
MP3 ($56.20)
CO ($22.60)
Button ($148.80)
Hero (SB) ($54.05)
BB ($29.40)
UTG ($50)
UTG+1 ($48.15)

Preflop: Hero is SB with K, K
5 folds, CO calls $0.50, Button bets $2, Hero raises to $7, 2 folds, Button calls $5

Flop: ($15) Q, 6, 8 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $14, Hero calls $14

Turn: ($43) J (2 players)
Hero bets $33.05 (All-In), Button calls $33.05

River: ($109.10) Q (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $109.10 | Rake: $3

Results below:
Button had Q, K (three of a kind, Queens).
Hero had K, K (two pair, Kings and Queens).
Outcome: Button won $106.10

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $0.50 BB (9 handed) - Full Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

SB ($85.75)
BB ($50)
UTG ($54.55)
UTG+1 ($51.35)
MP1 ($54.50)
Hero (MP2) ($50.75)
MP3 ($81.30)
CO ($40.95)
Button ($37.70)

Preflop: Hero is MP2 with A, A
1 fold, UTG+1 bets $1.50, 1 fold, Hero raises to $5.50, 5 folds, UTG+1 raises to $12, Hero raises to $50.75 (All-In), UTG+1 calls $38.75

Flop: ($102.25) K, 3, 8 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Turn: ($102.25) 7 (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($102.25) 3 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $102.25 | Rake: $3

Results below:
UTG+1 had K, K (full house, Kings over threes).
Hero had A, A (two pair, Aces and threes).
Outcome: UTG+1 won $99.25

then i start to retardo bluff
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $0.50 BB (3 handed) - Full Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

BB ($50)
Button ($70)
Hero (SB) ($50)

Preflop: Hero is SB with 5, 3
Button bets $1.50, Hero calls $1.25, 1 fold

Flop: ($3.50) 4, K, 2 (2 players)
Hero bets $3.50, Button calls $3.50

Turn: ($10.50) 9 (2 players)
Hero bets $10.50, Button calls $10.50

River: ($31.50) 10 (2 players)
Hero bets $34.50 (All-In), Button calls $34.50

Total pot: $100.50 | Rake: $1

Results below:
Button had 10, K (two pair, Kings and tens).
Hero had 5, 3 (high card, King).
Outcome: Button won $99.50

so back to nit

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $0.50 BB (7 handed) - Full Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Button ($50.85)
SB ($49.75)
Hero (BB) ($51.75)
UTG ($115.55)
MP1 ($65.40)
MP2 ($71.60)
CO ($89.10)

Preflop: Hero is BB with K, K
5 folds, SB calls $0.25, Hero bets $2, SB calls $1.50

Flop: ($4) 7, 9, A (2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks

Turn: ($4) K (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $3, SB raises to $6, Hero raises to $14, SB raises to $25, Hero raises to $49.75 (All-In), SB calls $22.75 (All-In)

River: ($99.50) 10 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $99.50 | Rake: $3

Results:
SB had A, A (three of a kind, Aces).
Hero had K, K (three of a kind, Kings).
Outcome: SB won $96.50

cos nit pays

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $0.50 BB (8 handed) - Full Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP2 ($50)
Hero (CO) ($50)
Button ($17.50)
SB ($34.50)
BB ($60.20)
UTG ($50)
UTG+1 ($28.50)
MP1 ($117.40)

Preflop: Hero is CO with A, A
1 fold, UTG+1 calls $0.50, MP1 calls $0.50, 1 fold, Hero bets $2.75, 1 fold, SB raises to $6, 1 fold, UTG+1 calls $5.50, 1 fold, Hero raises to $35, SB calls $28.50 (All-In), UTG+1 calls $22.50 (All-In)

Flop: ($98.50) 9, 8, 4 (3 players, 2 all-in)

Turn: ($98.50) 5 (3 players, 2 all-in)

River: ($98.50) 7 (3 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $98.50 | Rake: $3

Results below:
SB had 10, 10 (flush, ten high).
UTG+1 had A, K (flush, Ace high).
Hero had A, A (one pair, Aces).
Outcome: SB won $12, UTG+1 won $83.50

and then it's time to mount a comeback
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $0.50 BB (8 handed) - Full Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

UTG+1 ($37.75)
Hero (MP1) ($97)
MP2 ($81.95)
CO ($59.80)
Button ($88.80)
SB ($21)
BB ($52.90)
UTG ($52.75)

Preflop: Hero is MP1 with A, J
2 folds, Hero bets $1.75, 2 folds, Button calls $1.75, 2 folds

Flop: ($4.25) 8, 7, Q (2 players)
Hero bets $3.50, Button calls $3.50

Turn: ($11.25) 6 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $3, Hero calls $3

River: ($17.25) 4 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $15.75, Hero raises to $88.75 (All-In), Button calls $64.80 (All-In)

Total pot: $178.35 | Rake: $3

Results below:
Button had 5, Q (straight, eight high).
Hero had A, J (flush, Ace high).
Outcome: Hero won $175.35

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $0.50 BB (9 handed) - Full Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Button ($50)
Hero (SB) ($50.25)
BB ($50)
UTG ($31.35)
UTG+1 ($50)
MP1 ($62.60)
MP2 ($56.90)
MP3 ($70.30)
CO ($58.45)

Preflop: Hero is SB with K, A
2 folds, MP1 bets $1, MP2 raises to $3.75, 3 folds, Hero raises to $9, 1 fold, MP1 calls $8, MP2 calls $5.25

Flop: ($27.50) K, 5, 4 (3 players)
Hero bets $9, MP1 calls $9, 1 fold

Turn: ($45.50) 8 (2 players)
Hero bets $32.25 (All-In), MP1 calls $32.25

River: ($110) 10 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $110 | Rake: $3

Results below:
Hero had K, A (one pair, Kings).
MP1 had J, A (high card, Ace).
Outcome: Hero won $107

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $0.50 BB (8 handed) - Full Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (BB) ($50.75)
UTG ($50)
UTG+1 ($57.35)
MP1 ($74.60)
MP2 ($50.75)
CO ($106.95)
Button ($79.95)
SB ($17)

Preflop: Hero is BB with J, J
2 folds, MP1 bets $1.50, MP2 raises to $5, 3 folds, Hero calls $4.50, 1 fold

Flop: ($11.75) J, 6, 8 (2 players)
Hero checks, MP2 bets $6, Hero calls $6

Turn: ($23.75) 4 (2 players)
Hero checks, MP2 bets $12, Hero raises to $24, MP2 raises to $39.75 (All-In), Hero calls $15.75 (All-In)

River: ($103.25) 3 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $103.25 | Rake: $3

Results below:
Hero had J, J (three of a kind, Jacks).
MP2 had K, K (one pair, Kings).
Outcome: Hero won $100.25

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $0.50 BB (9 handed) - Full Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

SB ($17.65)
BB ($54.35)
UTG ($50)
UTG+1 ($50)
MP1 ($50.40)
MP2 ($38.80)
MP3 ($51.75)
Hero (CO) ($58.30)
Button ($60.80)

Preflop: Hero is CO with J, 9
2 folds, MP1 bets $1.50, 2 folds, Hero calls $1.50, 3 folds

Flop: ($3.75) 10, 3, 8 (2 players)
MP1 bets $2.50, Hero calls $2.50

Turn: ($8.75) Q (2 players)
MP1 bets $6, Hero raises to $54.30 (All-In), MP1 calls $40.40 (All-In)

River: ($101.55) 7 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $101.55 | Rake: $3

Results below:
MP1 had Q, Q (three of a kind, Queens).
Hero had J, 9 (st

w
Moved up to get some respect sometime in the middle of all this, no action from full stacks but

Full Tilt Pot-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (3 handed) - Full Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Button ($233.10)
SB ($60.55)
Hero (BB) ($100)

Preflop: Hero is BB with Q, Q
Button bets $3, SB calls $2.50, Hero raises to $11.50, 1 fold, SB calls $8.50

Flop: ($26) J, 8, 9 (2 players)
SB bets $4, Hero raises to $38, SB calls $34

Turn: ($102) 5 (2 players)
SB bets $11.05 (All-In), Hero calls $11.05

River: ($124.10) 3 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $124.10 | Rake: $1

Results below:
SB had A, 7 (high card, Ace).
Hero had Q, Q (one pair, Queens).
Outcome: Hero won $123.10

Full Tilt Pot-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (9 handed) - Full Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP2 ($84.90)
MP3 ($100)
CO ($115.80)
Button ($100.90)
SB ($61.40)
Hero (BB) ($100)
UTG ($271.50)
UTG+1 ($101.50)
MP1 ($112.95)

Preflop: Hero is BB with A, 9
7 folds, SB bets $3, Hero calls $2

Flop: ($6) 9, A, 6 (2 players)
SB bets $3, Hero raises to $9, SB calls $6

Turn: ($24) 10 (2 players)
SB bets $8, Hero raises to $48, SB raises to $49.40 (All-In), Hero calls $1.40

River: ($122.80) 6 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $122.80 | Rake: $3

Results below:
SB had 8, A (two pair, Aces and sixes).
Hero had A, 9 (two pair, Aces and nines).
Outcome: Hero won $119.80

Full Tilt Pot-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (6 handed) - Full Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

UTG ($100)
MP ($109)
CO ($175.35)
Button ($54.25)
SB ($215.20)
Hero (BB) ($102.85)

Preflop: Hero is BB with 10, K
3 folds, Button bets $3.50, 1 fold, Hero calls $2.50

Flop: ($7.50) K, 9, 3 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button checks

Turn: ($7.50) K (2 players)
Hero bets $5.50, Button raises to $14.75, Hero calls $9.25

River: ($37) 6 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $36 (All-In), Hero calls $36

Total pot: $109 | Rake: $3

Results below:
Button had J, Q (one pair, Kings).
Hero had 10, K (three of a kind, Kings).
Outcome: Hero won $106

Full Tilt Pot-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (7 handed) - Full Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Button ($101)
SB ($110.05)
BB ($41.10)
UTG ($184.35)
MP1 ($72)
MP2 ($206.25)
Hero (CO) ($100)

Preflop: Hero is CO with K, 3
3 folds, Hero bets $2.50, 2 folds, BB calls $1.50

Flop: ($5.50) 3, 2, K (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $4.50, BB calls $4.50

Turn: ($14.50) 6 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $12.50, BB calls $12.50

River: ($39.50) A (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $19.50, BB raises to $21.60 (All-In), Hero calls $2.10

Total pot: $82.70 | Rake: $3

Results below:
BB had 6, 6 (three of a kind, sixes).
Hero had K, 3 (two pair, Kings and threes).
Outcome: BB won $79.70

I just finished playing the FTR 500 on stars as part of my continuing tourney education. Turns out I still suck at tournaments and timing. That's 4hrs of my life i'm not getting back, the finally getting to a final table and eventually placing 3rd (for lolwat $105) is outweighed by the discomfort of playing far, far longer than i wanted to. And what a waste of rungood. I needed that when i flipped out in 150th in the last ftops i entered...

Good (?) news is that the cash session I was grinding alongside was a little profitable even through the tilt of 'wtf am i still in this fucking donkament - i've shoved 6 hands in a row, someone just call ffs'. This happened shortly after i'd folded pre about 50 hands in a row. Some of this time i think i was accidentally sitting out cos i had a cash table from another site stacked on top, oops.

life's good. My girlfriend got her masters results back yesterday (Distinction ftw!) so she can sort out her visa stuff before we head to europe again. Anyway, now that this tourney is over we're off to one of my favourite 3 restaurants in NZ. Bon apetit

in position on a whale with 700bb. I'm 350bb deep. But sometimes you just have to bring a session to a close. After a 7hr grind i could easily get it all horribly wrong....

oh, and yeah, it's month-end. Up a few $k.

Super low volume the first weeks then upped volume and ran like death the last few days. EV is all to shit, moan, moan, etc
this is mostly at da fiddies, some 100, some 25.
Cleared a tonne of bonus, up around $500 playing mtts, etc.
April gonna be huge! although a week of it i'll be on a climbing trip instead of playing poker.
here's a funny vid of indoor youth climbing psyche! Go large YouTube - The Insiders

Awesome!! Nh!

april is underway. I feel like I'm playing well, although causing some drama on 2p2 by sitting HU with some guy everyone feels like allowing to have fish to himself, and somehow it's ok for him to seat hop whenever it suits. He finally snapped a couple of days ago, we got in allin battles, i was up 5bi according to the aiev, but ran a little bad to only be up a few. Dunno what's going through the nit's mind right now - waiting for his next pm.

Tomorrow I'm driving out of dodge, heading north to meet up with a guy i lived/climbed with in chile for a few days -> maybe a week. I'll take my laptop and grind if it rains i guess. Today my girlfriend and i booked tickets to europe (again, seems like an annual thing of late). Leaving end-May, June and July climbing around germany and france mostly, then back end July.

Life is feeling grand. I'm getting in decent running shape for the first time in ages and ja, pretty much all is good. Although I need to bink a huge MTT to make it even better...

here's april so far. I haven't figured out my rakeback % while i'm clearing this bonus and generating double/triple points, etc - but it must be pretty close to 65%. Running at EV means i must have made up for those HU suckouts somewhere along the way

the climbing trip was heaps of fun, as was spending about 50% of my time up there living back in chilean spanish again - it started coming back.
I climbed 11 pitches the first day, 8 the second then some bouldering, etc. Nothing super hard or anything, but loads of pump anyway.

I didn't take my laptop with me so it was five days of no internet = refreshing. Played my first session back this morning just in time for the ironman freeroll (min-cashed for about $45) and broke even at the cash tables while running pretty bad (KK<AA twice, 78<KK allin on 678J, etc). Happy with most of how i played, and feeling pretty good about poker. Less than seven weeks until i leave new zealand again, so i need to get some grind in! Seems that i'm close to organising climbing partners for Ceuse while my girlfriend spends a week at some conference. Things are good.

Niceness! Glad things are rollin for ya.

Your blog is cool. Keep up the good work. Im happy you are at FTP, for my own personal reasons, because I tend to start tables and sometimes play regs. Prob do poorly vs u.

!luck

cheers for the comments guys!

i've often scoffed at the ideas of writing notes advising good poker play and sticking them to your monitor..
however:
"before auto-bluff-raising rivers allin vs regs always remember to take a deep breath, pause a second, and at least consider folding"
is now rocking pride of place at my desk. Could have saved myself 7 buyins the last 3 days just by reading such a note. One reg did manage to bank right down before calling his second set (fwiw i put him on QQ+ overpairs, TT/99 top two sets), and this a reg who folds about 80% of the time he banks. Anyway, i don't think my image is clean enough among regs to be pulling that kind of shit so often. There was one crazy 1k hand session where i managed to shove 40 times and have negative showdown winnings (obviously) and barely breakeven overall. This is nit-ring ffs, and i'm a nit. Give it up.

In general i have been playing poorly the last few days, even splashier than normal, bet-calling my bet-folds, bluffing with too little equity, calling 3bets oop, bluff-shoving into strong ranges, etc. Good news is that i'm up a bit, not heaps of $$ or anything, but to be playing this spewtard and still be winning says something about something. If i figure out what these somethings are anytime soon i'll post my ideas.

anyway, hidden in the spew there have been occasional bluffs i like a lot, and then a few like this one where i have managed to confuse myself more and more whenever i look at it. Bikes was at the table, not involved in the hand. I should ask him to put me on a range here..

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $0.50 BB (9 handed) - Full Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP2 ($84.90)
MP3 ($74.10)
CO ($38.35)
Hero (Button) ($50)
SB ($41.10)
BB ($50)
UTG ($26.05)
UTG+1 ($48.75)
MP1 ($52.50)

Preflop: Hero is Button with 10, A
5 folds, CO bets $1.50, Hero calls $1.50, SB calls $1.25, 1 fold

Flop: ($5) 5, K, J (3 players)
SB checks, CO checks, Hero checks

Turn: ($5) 7 (3 players)
SB checks, CO bets $1, Hero raises to $6, 1 fold, CO calls $5

River: ($17) 3 (2 players)
CO checks, Hero bets $12,

edit sex appeal cocaine grind music

Originally Posted by daven

i have been playing poorly the last few days, even splashier than normal, bet-calling my bet-folds, bluffing with too little equity, calling 3bets oop, bluff-shoving into strong ranges, etc.

my poker life summed in a sentence

so i started referring to poker as gambling. So i started playing a way more gambool style. So i experienced some sick swings. So it's time to get back to work.

a link with some sculpted bodies, some orchestral metallica, some cool choreography, and i need to find out if the people who did this were at a movement workshop i taught at the european juggling convention in lille a few years back where i made people interrogate movement and balance on a medium (climbing wall) that they were unfamiliar with.

Beyond Gravity-Trailer on Vimeo

edit - here's the last couple of days of poker. I'm running pretty awful in cooler spots over this sample as well. Games are obviously good. Ahead a little after bonusclear etc. Blah.
a nice post from that other forum
***** 1,000th POAST - You are Gonna F*** Up!! **** - Micro Stakes Full Ring Games - Micro Stakes Poker Strategy Forum